Kelly Leon
M.A., LMFT

It can get to be a really rough road, sometimes to the point where Yeats’ description becomes a little too apt: things fall apart, the center cannot hold, and mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. When we’re faced with times like these, whether they seem to hit us out of nowhere or move in quietly like a fog, going at it alone can be challenging, to put it mildly.

We’re social beings whether we like it or not, and it’s when the darker days move in on us that reaching out for help can feel the most unmanageable…and this is when it’s the most necessary. It can feel physically impossible during the down times to just even get the words out, let alone to ask for what we need. It’s during these times that we need to call a time out, take five from the world and find sanctuary, a place where we can figure things out, make sense of whatever may feel broken or bent and determine how to best reintegrate ourselves into ourselves, and then the new self back into the world.

And so enters the springboard into self-discovery, working with what feels like the broken pieces and spaces, finding new ways to communicate with and understand others, finding new ways to communicate with and understand ourselves. Yet another question still exists: who can possibly be asked to accompany us upon this path, a path that feels so full of uncertainty, unrest, and just a plain old mess?

That’s why we’re here…all of us. Both with and for one another. A while back, I decided I wanted to work within this process as a profession. So I received an MA in Clinical Psychology, and am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and been in this role for nearly ten years. I have received certifications various models including Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Seeking Safety (focusing on dual diagnoses) and the Positive Parenting Program (aka Triple P). I provide psychotherapy services to a wide range of individuals, my areas of focus including adolescents, children ages birth to five (and their caretakers) and individuals in the helping professions struggling with burnout, secondary/vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue (animal rights and human rights activists, legal officers, etc).

While my theoretical framework and foundation fundamentally include existential and depth psychology, the theoretical orientation that I use ultimately depends on the client I am working with, and I am both comfortable with and have experience in a range of orientations including cognitive behavioral, family systems, play therapy, humanistic and client-centered.